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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29054940">Kaz Brekker's Guide to Investment Protection</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomshaveruinedme/pseuds/fandomshaveruinedme'>fandomshaveruinedme</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gang Meeting Gone Wrong, Gen, Hurt Kaz Brekker, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Kaz Brekker Loves Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker is Emotionally Stinted, Major Character Injury, Shows Love by Taking a Bullet, The Dregs - Freeform, no mourners no funerals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:22:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29054940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomshaveruinedme/pseuds/fandomshaveruinedme</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Crows meet with the Dime Lions, but when they're set up, they have to fight their way out. Kaz gets hurt in the fallout, and the gang has to figure out a way to save their leader, while Kaz has to figure out a way to express his feelings for Inej before his time runs out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker &amp; Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker &amp; Jesper Fahey, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>281</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kaz Brekker's Guide to Investment Protection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I love Six of Crows so much!! This has been sitting in my notebook for a while, and with the release of the promo pictures I decided to type it out and publish it. </p><p>Content Warnings: <br/>Mentions Inej's time at the Menagerie, although there's no detail.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kaz</p><p>Kaz needed a new coat. It was a shame, really, considering his current coat had served him very well. He had it specially tailored once he took over the Dregs. Sadly, it was well on its way to being ruined. </p><p>With a grunt, Kaz hoisted himself up to his feet, gripping his side tightly. There was still a fight going on, and had to get out of the line of fire. Glancing around, Kaz took stock of the remaining people. Most of them were either members of the Dregs or dead Dime Lions, Kaz scoffed. He heard Jesper swearing somewhere in the background, and spotted his head peeking up from behind a barrel where he was taking cover. </p><p>Cover, yes. Kaz needed to take cover. He could feel Inej glancing over at him whenever she had an opening. He hoped that she hadn’t been looking when he first stumbled onto the wet pavement. </p><p>They were at the docks, collecting a shipment of Jurda, when the attack came. Kaz should’ve seen it coming, but he had been disrupted. The Wraith had just docked in the harbor the other day, and Kaz had been going over the number of slaves that would no longer be walking the streets of Ketterdam. He had a few of the lower Dregs members make sure everything was secure, and now he was paying the price. </p><p>How the Dime Lions found out about the sale was a mystery to Kaz, but he was going to find out eventually, and somebody was going to pay. </p><p>Kaz stumbled over to some barrels resting on the dock, and collapsed behind them. The fight was almost over, but he still took out his pistol and started to fire. </p><p>When the smoke cleared, the Dime Lions who had ambushed them were all dead, along with three members of the Dregs, who Kaz hadn’t even bothered to remember the names of. He could see Jesper checking Wylan over for injuries, while Wylan complained and brushed Jesper off with a soft smile. </p><p>Slowly, Kaz stood up with a gasp, bracing himself on his cane. He watched as Inej scanned him over, and he tried to school his features into his usual, neutral grimace. Inej’s eyes trailed down his body, and he watched them widen as she took in the hand covering his side, and the red seeping out between the fingers anyways. </p><p>Kaz tried to move towards the group, but felt the world, which was precariously balanced, tip at the movement, and then, he was falling. </p><p>When Kaz came too, it was to a rush of hands pulling at his coat, and tearing at his vest. He heard a gasp from Inej as she took in the sight of his wound. Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel, Dirtyhands himself had been shot, and he was dying. </p><p>“ Shit,” Jesper said softly, as he looked at the growing red stain on Kaz’s, once pristine, white shirt. </p><p>“We can’t stay out in the open, and Kaz needs a medick now.” Inej said, while attempting to move Kaz into a sitting position. For his part, Kaz was really trying to help out, but he was having a hard time focusing on anything besides the pain, and his inability to catch his breath. Not to mention the hands that were moving dangerously close to his uncovered flesh, shirt having been ripped open to find the wound. </p><p>Letting out a pained grunt, Kaz focused on staying conscious as Inej and Jesper housed him up to his feet. Blood loss was making everything start to tilt, and Kaz longed to slip into the comfort of unconsciousness. There was a voice next to his ear, however, and Kaz had to focus on that instead of focusing on how much he didn’t want to be awake anymore. </p><p>“-az. Kaz, talk to me, you are not allowed to slip away just yet.” </p><p>Sluggishly, his brain provided a name for the person speaking, “Inej?” </p><p>“Yes it’s me. Our work is not done here yet. We still have to dismantle more slavers and take over the Barrel, it would be a shame to die now. Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel, does not die because of a surprise attack and a stray bullet” </p><p>Groaning, Kaz managed to grit out, “It wasn’t a stray bullet.” Pushing out those words seemed to sap Kaz of what little strength he had, and he slumped in Inej and Jespers arms, no longer being able to hold any weight. He was panting heavily, and gazing down at the cobblestones underneath his feet and the blood staining the stones. </p><p>“What?” Inej breathed out, shock coursing through her body. Kaz closed his eyes and struggled to catch his breath. </p><p>“I protect my investments,” Kaz was shivering now, and he wasn’t sure if it was from blood loss or the cold night air of Ketterdam. Slowly, the pain was fading away, and when he tried to say more, warm liquid bubbled up his throat. </p><p>Black started to creep into Kaz’s vision, and he decided that it required too much energy to try and chase it away. The sounds of Jesper grunting with exertion, Wylan running ahead to find a medik, and Inej muttering soft prayers under her breath were all disappearing. Soon, Kaz Brekker, leader of The Dregs, succumbed to the black, and knew no more. </p><p>******************</p><p>Inej</p><p>Inej knew there was a change with Kaz when he took a shuddering breath and fell completely still. She didn’t dare tell Jesper to stop so she could check his pulse, instead she silently prayed to her saints, begging them to watch over Kaz. </p><p>It was ironic, in a grim sort of way, that Kaz’s idea of expressing his feelings for Inej, was to take a bullet for her instead of outright saying that he cared. Inej grimaced as she felt Jesper shifting a bit as he noticed that they were now fully supporting Kaz’s body, and she urged him to move even faster. </p><p>After what felt like eternity, Inej and Jesper finally caught up to Wylan. He was standing in the doorway of a decrepit looking building, motioning them forwards frantically. With hardly a glance in his direction, Inej rushed past. </p><p>The medik was an older looking man with grey hair and a scruff of whiskers coating his cheeks. Apparently Wylan had already told the man about their situation, because he immediately led Inej and Jesper to a small room with a bed and some medical supplies already out and waiting. </p><p>Once Kaz was placed onto the bed, the medik pushed the two out of the way and frowned over Kaz’s unconscious body. He pulled out a pair of scissors and quickly sliced through Kaz’s red stained shirt, before peeling it away from the oozing wound. </p><p>“Hmmm,” he muttered, more to himself than anybody else, “ no exit wound; means bullets inside still. Gotta find that.”</p><p>Inej watched the man continue to poke and prod Kaz until she felt a soft hand rest on her shoulder.<br/>“There’s nothing more you can do for him,” Jesper said while guiding Inej towards a set of stairs in the corner. “Wylan found a bedroom upstairs where we’re allowed to stay. Kaz will- he’ll pull through. He’s too stubborn to die without taking over all of Ketterdam.” Inej looked at him and couldn’t tell if he was saying that more for her benefit, or for his. </p><p>Upstairs there was a small attic with two beds and a small bathroom located in the corner. A single window overlooked the moonlite streets, and provided most of the light in the small room. </p><p>Inej peeled back her outer jacked and pulled off her boots before silently padding over to the bathroom. The water turned red as she dipped her hands into it, and she scrubbed at them furiously. Blood on her hands wasn’t uncommon, however, it was never the blood of a friend, never Kaz. </p><p>With a sigh, Inej pulled her hands from the water, and moved back towards the beds. One by one, she removed her knives and placed them with her jacket, keeping one tucked under the pillow as well. Then, she carefully peeled back the blanket and curled up in bed. The weight of the night finally crashing down around her and dragging Inej into a restless sleep. </p><p>********</p><p>When Inej woke up the sun was peeking out over the houses lining the streets of Ketterdam. She glanced over to the other bed and smiled as she saw Wylan and Jesper tangled together on the small bed, Wylans bright red hair just poking out from under both Jesper and the blanket. Her amusement was short lived, however, and soon an ache moved its way into her heart. The act was so domestic, and deep down, Inej wished she would have something like Jesper and Wylan, no trauma holding her back, or Kaz for that matter. </p><p>Tearing her eyes away Inej silently slipped out of bed and to the stairs. The medik hadn’t woken anybody up, so she assumed that Kaz hadn’t died during the night. </p><p>Soundlessly, Inej moved over the wood floor and over towards Kaz’s bed in the corner. She gazed down at his pale, unconscious face taking in his high cheekbones and ruffled black hair. Inej had never seen Kaz so relaxed, and she wanted to take in the sight. Even during his regular sleep, Kaz slept lightly, with a knife under his pillow.</p><p>She moved her eyes away from Kaz’s face and carefully moved so that she was sitting on the floor, her head resting near Kaz’s. Inej closed her eyes and listened to the soft sound of breathing coming from Kaz, a small confirmation that he was alive. </p><p>Inej must have dozed off, because she lurched awake, reaching for her knives when she felt a light pressure on her shoulder. She heard a sharp intake of breath before a raspy voice cut through the air, </p><p>“Impressive timing Wraith, very quick.” </p><p>“Kaz?” she choked out, emotions trying to force their way out her usually stoic facade. She watched his eyes rove over her before Kaz said, </p><p>“ Why are you on the floor?” Inej was often surprised by what came out of the mouth of Kaz Brekker, but this question truly shocked her. </p><p>“You were shot, we’re at an unknown medik office, and I was keeping watch.” </p><p>“Keeping watch with your eyes closed, the Wraith never ceases to amaze.” </p><p>Inej felt her face darken, a blush making its way up her neck and into her cheeks. She waited for Kaz to say more, and when he didn’t she allowed them to lapse into a comfortable silence. </p><p>“It can't be comfortable, sitting like that on the floor.” Kaz broke the silence, “ This- this bed is big enough for two.” Inej took a breath and watched as Kaz painfully moved over to one side of the bed.  	</p><p>Hesitantly, Inej laid herself next to Kaz, resting on top of the blankets. She felt Kaz stiffen for a moment as her weight pressed into his side, but he soon relaxed again. She knew Kaz didn’t have a shirt on, and although he was mostly covered by the blanket, his arms and shoulders were exposed. </p><p>It was strange, being in bed with Kaz Brekker. She hadn’t been in bed with a man since the Menagerie, and it was strange to her, being able to relax without fear of what comes next. Slowly, Inej moved her hand so it gripped Kaz’s loosely, giving him an opportunity to pull away if he wished. He didn’t and, instead, tightened his grip on her hand. Startled, Inej moved her head slightly, and found it resting on Kaz’s shoulder, and again, he didn’t move. </p><p>Eventually, Kaz’s breathing evened out as he drifted off to sleep once again. Inej smiled to herself, a small quirk of her lips. This wasn’t what Inej had imagined about romance when she was a little girl, but it was a start, and for now that was enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!! Comment and give kudos if you want it makes me feel happy to see everybody's thoughts.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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